NCJ Number
187221
Journal
Punishment & Society Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2001 Pages: 153-160
Editor(s)
David Garland
Date Published
January 2001
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Comments are offered on research by Wacquant that examines statistical data on incarceration in the United States and on a detailed case study by Anderson of inner-city crime and the code of the streets.
Abstract
The highly different approaches of the two researchers, both of which are valid, highlight the timeliness of contemporary criminological researchers who are reconsidering the early roots of their profession, particularly insofar as the task of constructing grand theory must ultimately be based on individual cases. In their attempt to free themselves from the biases of ideology, contemporary positivist criminologists have politicized the field and, in the process, have caused ideologically-charged social harm. The commentary proposes that certain approaches to criminological research be re-evaluated with a focus on grounding research in such realities as the meaning of actions labeled delinquent or criminal and in transcendent aspects of human activity. 8 references